Amal is a young Pakistani girl, and she is happy. She loves school, she enjoys her family and helping out at home, and she has high hopes for her future as a teacher. School is put on hold when she has to stay home to help out after the birth of a new baby, but the pause is meant to be temporary. It becomes more permanent when, after a brief flare of temper directed at the wrong man in the market, Amal is pressed into servitude at the home of her village's corrupt landlord to pay off her debt.

Hopeless, helpless, and lonely, Amal sees the future she dreamed of slipping away. Life in the Khan house is fearful and filled with small deceits, but Amal also finds friendship in some of the others who work there. But as she learns more about the Khans, she must make difficult decisions that could have far-reaching affects on herself, her new friends, and all of the people in her village.

This was such a wonderful middle grade book, introducing young readers to the life of a girl in Pakistan, with all its hopes and limitations. While Amal doesn't face the same dangers as Malala Youszafzai (who the author briefly discusses in a lovely note at the end), she still has to learn to stand up for herself and others, and find her own bravery, at a young age.